(not electro-etched)
Moreover I want to use B.I.G. non-toxic etching ground to coat the plates with soft ground. Ultimately I will print the etched plates with Akua Intaglio ink. This whole process should be non-toxic, and thus in line with the criteria of the Remarque/New Grounds Print Workshop in Albuquerque.
ELECTRO-ETCHING
- Alfonso Crujera lays out the whole electro-etching process, step-by-step, in his blog posting.
- Marita Chustak made a YouTube video of the whole electro-etching process, using soft grounds, in her studio.
Critical Supplies
- Electrolyte -- Copper Sulfate is available on Amazon 99% pure (and apparently at Rio Grande in Albuquerque).
Weak: 160g COPPER SULFATE to 1 liter of WATER
Medium: 200g COPPER SULFATE to 1 liter of WATER
Strong: 250g COPPER SULFATE to 1 liter of WATER
- Volt meter -- (at QueLab hackerspace)
..usually use a very low voltage of 0.5 volts. For the small plates shown in this article, the corresponding current is around 0.4 amps. With this voltage and after 15 minutes of electrolysis, we will have a printable line. A plate will need to be etched up to 60 minutes to get deeper lines
WARNING:
With 10 volts, oxygen will form at the anode and hydrogen on the cathode,
and these gases together are an explosive combination.
POSITIVE/NEGATIVE CONNECTIONS
ARE CRITICAL
When the copper plate is connected to the positive terminal, the exposed copper comes off, etching our plate -- which is electro-etching.
When the copper plate is connected to the negative terminal, the reverse happens -- metal attaches to the copper plate -- which is electro-plating. This process can be used by printmakers to get more prints -- by steel-facing the copper plate -- so that the copper does not wear down so fast.
Dress rehearsal --
Electro-etching set-up at QueLab
(lacking stainless steel piece
to hook up to the negative green alligator clip)
OTHER VIDEOS
Angelic Bracho, of Taller La Catrina in Monterrey, Mexico, said that one can etch small plates with a phone charger.
B.I.G. SOFT GROUNDS
There are YouTube videos about the soft ground process, by the inventor of B.I.G -- Part 1 and Part 2.
After applying the B.I.G. grounds with a brayer, I will put a piece of newsprint paper over it, and draw the figure with an unsharpened lead holder. My pencil marks will shift the soft grounds from the copper plate to the newsprint paper -- so that when the newsprint is pulled off, the copper will be exposed underneath my drawn lines (ready for ferric-chloride etching, or electro-etching).
EZ Strip, from Home Depot. takes off the B.I.G. grounds very easily. With other products, it can be very hard to take off the B.I.G. soft grounds after etching the copper plate.
PLATE PREPARATION
- De-oxidize the copper plate by spraying with vinegar, and then pouring on table salt.
- De-greasing the copper plate, afterwards, by cleaning it with Bon Ami.
- Contact paper to protect the back of the copper plate, to keep it from etching
SMALL PORTABLE ETCHING PRESS
I bought a small etching press so that I can take it on the road, to different studios, hackerspaces, or distant cities. This press would only take small electro-etched plates, which means that I could take the non-toxic etching supplies with me. By using Akua intaglio ink, I should be able hand out prints that are dry enough to carry away. At least this is the idea for the portable studio, which we might take to the Southwest Print Fiesta in Silver City.
My small E-9 Conrad etching press
on display at the Postre Prints exhibition
I need to make a print edition on 8 x 8 inch paper for the Ambos Lados International Print Exchange. My copper plate will be small then, probably 7 x 7 inches ... no larger than 8x8, or smaller than 6x6.
*****
PREVIOUS ETCHING EXPERIENCES
NEW GROUNDS ETCHING WORKSHOP
July 2016
REMARQUE ETCHING WORKSHOP
August 2017
ARGOS GALLERY AND PRINT SHOP
SOFT GROUNDS ETCHING WORKSHOP
Dec 2017
- Short posting, over all summary
- Soft Grounds etching workshop with Mary Teichman
- BASICS (from plate preparation to ...)
- PLATE WIPING
- HARD GROUND
- SOFT GROUND
- AQUATINT
- SUGARLIFT
- TWO PLATE COLOR
- IMAGE TRANSFER
*****
ALTERNATIVE PROCESSES
I would also like to push into some alternative processes to make intalgio prints
- Molotow Masterpiece grounds -- this graffiti market is alcohol based, like a Sharpie. Therefore one can paint a clean copper plate with the black marker, essentially coating it with a resist. This marker is thick, so one can coat the copper quickly. Then he can scratch lines into the black resist, and submerge it in acid (or electro-etch it). The exposed lines etch, and the graffiti ink protects the rest of the copper. The Molotow ink is probably more brittle than regular ink, and could chip off when scratching into the inked plate.
- Lasercutting etching plates -- most laser cutters (such as the CO2 at QueLab hackerspace), do not cut into metal (though a YAG/Fiber laser should). However, perhaps the laser cutter will cut into the Molotow Masterpiece marker grounds, exposing copper lines, which can then be etched in acid (or electro-etched). Or one might try coating the copper first with the spray CerMark LMM-14 (ok for brass too), and then etch it -- see this YouTube. One might also use TherMark LMM6018 Laser Marking Tape for Metal, taping the copper surface first, and then laser cutting the design, before dipping the plate into acid (or electro-etching). Why not use masking tape instead?
- Or just lasercut acrylic to make intaglio prints (I did this once)
- Graphene ink -- there is no reason to print with graphene ink. One might be able to purchase it, or make it at home. But it conducts electricity, which might lead to cool art projects in the future.
- Relief zinc plates -- Jose Guadalupe Posada apparently made all his calavaera prints from "relief zinc" plates, which I assume were etched. I believe that William Blake pioneered a similar relief-etching process. So I imagine drawing on a copper plate with Stones litho crayons (not Korns litho crayons, because they are water soluble), then electro-etching the plate. I just wonder if one would have to use the letter press, rubber based ink, Van Son, to ink the etched relief plates up.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.